


10 times Jake or Amy babysitted Terry's twins and ended up together or not

by weasleyspotter



Category: Brooklyn Nine-Nine (TV)
Genre: F/M, This fic also involves Terry's twins, it's a babysitting fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-31
Updated: 2014-03-31
Packaged: 2018-01-17 17:26:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,510
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1396330
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/weasleyspotter/pseuds/weasleyspotter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>or the 10 steps it took for Jake and Amy to get together.</p>
            </blockquote>





	10 times Jake or Amy babysitted Terry's twins and ended up together or not

**Author's Note:**

  * For [elenlith](https://archiveofourown.org/users/elenlith/gifts).



> For the Jake x Amy Fic Exchange. The prompts that were given: 1) Jake and Amy get stuck in a basement while chasing a perp, and Jake has been shot. 2) Terry asks Jake and Amy to babysit his daughters, and they basically fall for each other as they discover they're both very good with babies. 3) Amy receives life threats, Jake convinces Holt to assign him to her protection. Needless to say, they have to stick together for a week while the squad works to catch the culprit.
> 
> I chose the second one, hope you enjoy the fic!

i.

The first time it’s nine at night and she’s just settling into her couch with a bag of zebra popcorn and four seasons of the OC that her cousin lent her, who said that at least she should be able to watch people with lives.

She’s just popped in the first disk when her phone rings, a meticulous six inches away from her. Close enough that she can reach, but far enough that she couldn’t see the screen. She debates internally for a moment, it could be work, but it could also be her mother. Considering the possibilities for a split second, she reaches over and grabs the phone.

It’s Peralta. A whole other category she wanted to avoid.

“What do you want?” She growls into the phone as she flips it open.

“Look Santiago, normally I’d make a joke about how grumpy you sounded right now, but I’m kind of desperate,” his voice is joined in by two chorus high pitch wails.

“What’s going on?” Her voice softens a bit, and to her eternal shame, she’s already packing up her hand bag.

“I know you’re on your hot date with that loser from human resources,” he begins. 

“I’m not,” she interrupts. “Continue.”

“But Terry asked me to take care of his kids while he goes on a hot date with his wife, no duh. And I thought how hard could it be, cause like babies poop and sleep all the time, right?” He asks rhetorically. He pauses for a moment, and the crying in the background eases slightly, before picking up again closer to the phone this time. She assumes he picked one of them up. “Wrong! Turns out babies cry. They cry, like non stop. And I need them to stop crying. Preferably now. Can you please come help me out?” 

“Jake,” she sighs, looking mournfully back at her TV. “Fine, just give me a few minutes.”

Terry had asked her to babysit the twins only once before, and that was the one time she turned him down because she was supposed to be on a date. When the date was canceled because her date couldn’t find a ride to the restaurant, Peralta had already taken the babysitting job.

She knew next to nothing about babies, but she supposed that there was a maternal instinct buried somewhere within her. 

When she shows up at Terry’s house, Jake greets her at the door with two screaming babies and a small, “Help.”

She mixes their bottles, while Jake settles them down. “I just fed them like one hour ago,” he says as she hands him the bottle.

“Babies eat a lot,” she says picking up the other one and settling her. “Hi,” she coos.

“I didn’t think they were monsters.” He sighs as the baby in his laps gurgles into her bottle.

It’s a weird sight, seeing Peralta (who is practically a child himself) holding a baby. He’s surprisingly good at it. He even makes funny faces down at the baby he’s feeding. It’s strange to see another side of him, a side that seems capable of caring for another living thing,

“I can’t believe Terry asked you to babysit,” she says, breaking the silence that fell over them.

“I can’t believe he waited until there was no one else. I’m an awesome babysitter,” he proclaims.

She merely raises an eyebrow at him.

“Minor freakout aside, I had everything under control.” He finishes.

She simply laughs.

ii.

The second time, she calls him.

The twins are a little older. Old enough to find her meticulous planning annoying, and to shout that they’d much rather watch Disney movies than the educational kid program she picked out. They also groan at her well-planned meal that is only slightly burnt.

It’s when they call her the worst babysitter ever that she calls him.

It’s not because she’s desperate and needs his help. It’s because she wants to prove to them that she’s not the worst baby sitter ever, there’s someone far worse than her.

It goes horribly though, because the kids love Uncle Jake. He shows up with Tangled and Beauty and the Beast, a box of Sal’s Pizza, and some ice cream.

She sort of hates herself for inviting him over as the girls jump around his feet.

“The secret is being awesome, Santiago,” he says and he take a huge spoon of ice cream out of the box. She’s sitting on the couch, while Tangled playing on the TV, muted because the girls are sprawled out on the floor on a makeshift bed of pillows and blankets fast asleep. “You got to give them all the things their parents wouldn’t. You acted like their mom.”

“There’s nothing wrong with a nutritious meal and educational programming,” she sniffes.

“Not if you’re seventy.”

She laughs. “God I suck at this. I couldn’t even get two toddlers to like me, how am I going to get my own kids to like me?”

“To be fair, they’re not easy. They’re like the harshest critics I’ve ever watched House Hunters with.” He smiles softly at her, nudging her with his shoulder. “You’ll be a great mom.”

“You’re pretty good with them,” she looks downward at the sleeping figures. “You babysit them a lot?”

“Terry asks for my help once and awhile,” he says modestly. “Okay, all the time. But I’m an awesome babysitter, what can I say? It also helps with the ladies, they love a man who’s good with kids. Instant babe magnet.”

“Please never call women _the ladies_ again.”

“Okay.”

iii.

The third time he calls her because she’s on a case, and she’s dangerously close to edging him out on their bet.

“Santiago,” he crows as soon as she picks up the phone. “Come help me with Terry’s little monsters.”

On cue, the twins chorus, “Auntie Amy we miss you.”

“Nice touch on the extra cuteness,” he says to them, covering the microphone. He uncovers the microphone, “What do you say, Santiago? Are you gonna join the cool kids?”

“Peralta, I swear to god if you screw this up for me.” Then she hangs up.

She joins him later though, when the twins are fast asleep in their beds. He considers apologizing to her, but she walks through the door and hands him a bag of melting Rocky Road, and he considers it a peace offering.

“Is this becoming a thing?” He asks her as he grabs the spoons. “I’ve never had a thing before.”

iv.

The fourth time happens because Terry invites them both to babysit the twins.

“Might as well kill two birds with one stone, cause you’ll both end up at my house anyway,” he says to Amy later on.

Amy arrives first. They jump around her for a few moments, before they realize that Jake isn’t right behind her. They bombard her with questions about his whereabouts which she answers with a simple, “I’m sure he’s on his way right now.” She settles the girls into their pajamas, plying them with junk food and Disney films. The girls are restless though, occasionally straying to the window to see if Jake was walking up. Eventually they fall asleep in front of the TV.

She doesn’t have the heart or the strength to move them. And part of her holds out hope that if she waits long enough, he’ll show up.

It’s nearly eleven when he texts her.

_Got distracted w/ Boyle. All good w/ the girls?_

She doesn’t respond.

v.

The fifth time (which also doesn’t happen), he knows he shouldn’t call her, because she’s out on a date with Teddy.

He thumbs the button to her speed dial on his phone every time the girls do something cute. He wants to call them when Lacey finally masters the cartwheel or when Cadney stuffs like six cheerios in her mouth.

But he doesn’t call because she’s on a date.

Instead he sends her a pic of Cadney and Lacey wearing pajamas smiling at the camera.

_Look wat ur missing out on._

When she doesn’t respond, he wonders if he’s the missing out.

vi.

The sixth time (isn’t supposed to happen) she calls him last minute.

Teddy was supposed to help her babysit, it was supposed to be a bonding thing between the two of them. And it had been entirely her idea, and maybe he had seemed slightly unsure about the idea, but she was convinced that it would go well.

Instead he bails on her last minute because a case comes up that needs his attention. She knows that she can’t argue with that, because that’s the job, and no one knows that any better then she does. But she still hates it just a little bit.

She convinces herself that she can take care of the girls herself, and she does. She even does a decent job of it. She feeds the girls their favorite meal, puts on the Little Mermaid, and tucks them into bed at bedtime with their favorite story. They don’t ask about her boyfriend who was supposed to come over or Jake who almost always comes over when she comes over. She thinks that maybe she can do this babysitting thing all by herself.

Until Lacey wakes up around ten saying she has a stomachache.

She calls Terry who promises her that he’ll be home with his wife soon, two hours tops. She checks in with Cadney, who is fast asleep. Lacey curls up on the couch beside her and moans loudly, clutching her stomach.

“It hurts,” she whines, “Auntie Amy, I want my mommy.”

“I know sweetie,” she feels like crying herself, “She’ll here soon, I swear.”

Half an hour later, Lacey throws up.

It’s disgusting and Amy almost throws up herself at the smell. But she swallows it down and assures the sobbing girl that everything is alright.

“I think we need some back up,” she soothes the little girl, rubbing her back up and down. “Why don’t we call for back up?”

She dials the first number she can think of.

“Wassup,” his voice is mumbled and sleep ridden, but it’s the best thing she’s heard in the moment.

“Thank god,” she whispers, as Lacey curls into her lap. “I need your help.”

He shows up in ten minutes with ginger ale and medicine. “The lady at the pharmacy said this is for kids, but she was half asleep, so I don’t know.” He crouches beside Lacey, “Hey bug, how are you doin’?”

Lacey moans in response.

“I don’t really speak moan, but I think that translates as awesomely happy to see her cool Uncle Jake?”

She giggles softly, while Amy smiles down at him.

The medicine and ginger ale help a lot, and Lacey falls asleep between the two of them with her feet on Jake’s lap and her head on Amy’s.

“Thanks for coming,” Amy says softly to him.

“It’s all good,” he responds staring at a corner of the wall intently. “I thought Teddy was supposed to be with you, what happened?”

“He bailed last minute because of a case.” She frowns.

“That sucks,” he looks sympathetic. For a moment, she’s caught off guard because Jake isn’t the sympathetic type, but she shakes it off.

“I thought it would be a cool thing to do,” she says, unsure why she’s talking to Jake about this.

“Yeah,” he sounds just as uncomfortable as her, switching his eyes to another corner of the wall.

“I guess I understand that he’s a cop, like me, and he’s got a job that he’s dedicated to. And if he can’t understand why I reschedule a date because of a stakeout, I need to understand why he bailed on babysitting because he had to work late.” She keeps talking, because once she’s started, she can’t stop.

“Amy,” Jake starts softly.

“And something like this happens,” her voice rises just a pitch. “And I just realized that he wasn’t there when I needed him. You were.” She pauses for a moment. “It’s just frustrating.”

“That’s not really fair,” Jake says, still staring at the wall. “I’m sure if Teddy knew this was going to happen, he’d be here.”

For a moment she doesn’t know why he defends Teddy. He even looks uncomfortable doing it, as though he’s not sure if he should. Deep down, she knows though that he’s doing it for her, for her happiness.

“Maybe,” Amy muses quietly. “But it doesn’t matter, because he’s still not here.”

vii.

The seventh time she calls him. But he doesn’t pick up.

He’s undercover, and he’s probably chucked his phone into a trashcan. Either way, she knows that he’s not going to pick up his phone, but she still calls him anyway.

“Hey Jake,” she says after the beep. “I know this is the millionth message that I’ve left you,” she lets out a nervous laugh at the thought of all the rambling messages she left in his voicemail box after his confession. “I probably shouldn’t be calling you, but I’m babysitting for Terry, and I thought of you. The girls miss you, they ask about you a lot.” She pauses for a moment, taking a deep breath. “I miss you. And I’m worried. The Captain said he hasn’t heard from you in awhile, and it’s,” she trails off. “Just call one of us back, okay? I don’t need you dying on me. I like working with you. It sucks less with you.” She smiles into the phone. “Anyway, I’ll talk you later. Come home soon.”

viii.

The eighth time is because she had to pick up a file from Terry’s house.

“It’ll only take a second,” she promises Teddy outside of Terry’s house, “I swear.”

“It’s fine,” Teddy assures her with a smile. “We’ve got plenty of time to make our reservation time.”

“Okay,” she smiles at him, before jogging quickly to the door.

He opens the door, looking as startled as her. The girls are sitting behind him coloring, they glance up at her and crow, “Auntie Amy.”

“I just came to pick up the case file from Terry,” she blurts out, because this is the first time she’s seen him in six months. He hasn’t even come back to work yet.

She wonders if it’s possible for him to actually look different without looking different. He looks the same though, same short haircut and a plaid shirt with a leather jacket that is slung over the couch. But he looks more haggard, as if he hasn’t slept properly in months.

“I just came by to see the girls,” he explains, “it’s been awhile.”

“Of course,” she says. She wonders if things would have been so awkward between them if he hadn’t confessed to having feelings for her, or if she had accepted them instead of staying silent. “So, that case file?”

“Oh sure,” he stands to the side, letting her in.

She grabs the case file from the coffee table as the girls gather around her asking if she’s going to stay.

“No,” she says a bit sadly. “I’ve got a date with Teddy.”

It’s only after she says it that she realizes how insensitive it is and she winces, turning around to face him. He looks at her passively, and she realizes that he didn’t expect her to respond to his romantic confession or even break up with Teddy. And somehow that hurts just a little bit more.

She inhales deeply, “I should get going, or we’ll miss our reservation.”

“Okay,” he replies simply.

“I’ll see you at work?” It’s almost a question because she doesn’t know when he’ll be back, but she hopes it’ll be soon because it hasn’t been the same without him.

“See you at work,” and he finally smiles at her.

At least that hasn’t changed one bit.

ix.

The ninth time happens after she breaks up with Teddy.

It doesn’t happen because of Jake. She doesn’t fall madly in love with Jake, have an affair and decide that Teddy is not right for her. Well that part actually happens, she decides that Teddy isn’t right for her. They aren’t working, haven’t been working for a while. And she’s tried of pushing it to work.

She doesn’t tell anyone about the break up, because it’s none of their business. And somehow they don’t find out either. Maybe being the dumper is easier, because she doesn’t feel all that bad. She’s definitely not as obvious as Boyle was after Vivian.

She doesn’t have anywhere to be Friday night, so she tells Terry that she wouldn’t mind taking care of the twins, but he tells her that he already asked Jake.

Jake had been back for a few months, and he was a bit different at first. But things had been slowly getting back to normal, and it was nice to have him back. Even nicer was the fact that he hadn’t brought up his confession right before he left.

Or at least it was nice in the beginning, now it’s just maddening.

She doesn’t know how she feels, if she feels anything at all, but the fact that he doesn’t bring it up makes her feel like perhaps he doesn’t feel the same way anymore. And if he does, why doesn’t he drop her a note or something. _Hey Amy, fyi I don’t feel the same way about you as I used to, just thought you should know, so you don’t go all Santiago on me._

She hangs around Terry’s house and waits for Terry and his wife to leave before she walks to the door with a plastic bag of ice cream and a box of Sal’s pizza.

He opens the door, wearing a ridiculous get up of pink tulle. She bursts out laughing.

“Amy,” he squeaks, “I didn’t know you were going to be here.”

“I brought food,” she laughs out. “What are you wearing?”

He straightens up, “I’ll have you know I’m wearing Princess Sparkle’s get up, and Cadney and Lacey said I look fabulous.”

“That you do,” she says with a soft smile. “Can I come in?”

“Sure,” he stands to the side.

The girls are excited to see her, even more excited when they see the box of pizza and ice cream. She joins their games for a bit until the girls get tired. Jake offers to tuck them into bed and she heads out into the living room, grabbing the box of ice cream from the fridge and two spoons. She curls up on the couch and digs into the ice cream.

When he enters, she looks up at him, “We need to talk.”

“Okay,” he looks caught off guard, then he smiles at her, and opens his mouth.

“Don’t say that’s the title of my next sex tape.” Though she appreciates his stab at humor.

He smiles, but sits beside her.

“About what you told me before you left for the undercover mission, do you still mean it?” She looks anywhere except for him.

“Amy,” he begins slowly.

“Because I’m not sure I’m ready for that. I don’t even know how I feel about you. But I can’t,” she pauses. “Jake, you’re one of my best friends, and I can’t lose you.”

“When I told you all that,” he says slowly, cutting her off. “I didn’t know what was going to happen to me undercover. Telling you was a way of getting all that off my chest, and I know that’s not fair. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”

“No,” she brushes off, “I know that. It’s just, I need time.”

“Time?”

“Time to sort things out, to know how I feel about you, how I feel about me. I just need some time.”

“Okay.”

“Okay?” She’s a bit confused, because she knows Jake and he’s anything but patient.

“If you need time,” he says slowly, “I can wait.”

“Thanks,” she says placing a hand over his hand.

He smiles at her for a moment, before turning his attention to the TV. “Want to help me catch up on all the TV I missed? No spoilers though.”

“Sure,” she smiles as he turns on the TV.

x.

The tenth time it’s nine at night, and she’s settling into her couch with some zebra popcorn and a few seasons of CSI: Miami that he swears his life on, when her phone rings.

She considers it for a moment before she denies the call.

“Who is it?” He pokes his head out of her kitchen.

“It doesn’t matter,” she shakes her head, “they can leave a message if it’s important.”

He walks over and sits beside her, “Now you may think it’s a bit weird at first,” he says as he presses play, “But I swear you’ll like it.”

She nods as she curls into, just because she can.

Later on, when she checks her messages, she sees the call came from Terry’s house. It’s the girls hoping she had a great date with Jake.

(She doesn’t even question how they know.)

**Author's Note:**

> As usual, if you enjoyed the fic, please comment and kudos.


End file.
